NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.
Diwali Special
How Are The Cleanest Cities In India Planning To Manage The Waste Generated During Diwali Festivities
Here is how the best performing cities in the Swachh Sarvekshan plan to ensure a clean Diwali manage the waste generated during Diwali festivities
New Delhi: After effects of a festival can be witnessed everywhere, but most prominently in the piles of garbage on the street post the event. Every year, various plans and awareness campaigns are rolled out to make sure the litter is in check. NDTV asked the six best performing cities of the Swachh Survekshan, a cleanliness survey conducted as a part of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, how they are planning to manage the waste generated post Diwali.
1. Indore
Indore, being the cleanest city in the country for the second consecutive year, claims to be fully prepared to maintain the city’s cleanliness regardless of the festival. Dr. Asad Warsi, Team Leader, Project Implementation, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, told NDTV that the quantity of the inorganic waste in the city has already increased by 300 Metric Tonnes in the week leading up to Diwali.
On Diwali night, we will start the mechanical sweeping at 2 am until 6 am so that when people come out for their morning walk on the next day, they find the roads clean, he said.
Mr. Warsi further added that they have set up dedicated teams to ensure cleanliness, increased the collection vehicles, in number and frequency, as well as their workforce by 15 per cent, TO working round the clock in shifts, to ensure the festival waste is managed. The workers are also doing multiple shifts for door to door waste collection.
We are paying maximum attention to the commercial areas and religious places, where we have ensured time to time clean up drives for garbage collection, he added.
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2. Chandigarh
Chandigarh has been one of the cleanest cities for about a decade. Chandigarh authorities informed NDTV that they are in an ‘operation mode’ during the Diwali week. They have identified some problematic areas in addition to the commercial areas in the city. A senior official from Chandigarh Municipal Corporation told NDTV that they would be sending teams post-midnight on Diwali to do a round of clean up in these areas. Another round would be conducted at 6 am for general waste collection throughout the city.
At around 11 am, we will start sending our teams for door to door garbage collection to collect the domestic waste. Usually this is done once, but while we are in the ‘operation mode’ we will do multiple rounds. All the waste would be segregated before sending it to the processing plant, he said.
3. Navi Mumbai
Tushar Pawar, Deputy Commissioner, Navi Mumbai says that Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation has made sure their citizens are vigilant with regards to the Diwali waste management by rolling out various awareness campaigns and local newspaper advertisements about the same. In addition to this, they have deployed sanitation workers in shifts to clean up and do the routine door to door collection.
Mr. Pawar further added that they also have patrolling teams to ensure the local shops and vendors are not using plastic bags.
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4. Bhopal and Mysore
According to the Deputy Commissioner, Harshit Tiwari, Bhopal Municipal Corporation plans to send the waste collectors to all the market places and the old city at 7 am and conduct routine clean up drives and door to door collection. Mr. Tiwari also said that they have increased the number of garbage collection vehicles for the same.
Meanwhile, Mysore Municipal Corporation says that they have formed special teams to crosscheck each other’s designated areas to ensure maximum efficiency. And in addition to the routine sweeping and door to door collection, all the workers have been directed to segregate the waste.
5. Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad has been named as the fastest moving city in the Swachh Sarvekshan 2018 results, moving up to the rank 36 from 351 in just a year. The city has been dealing with the annual air pollution emergency issue, with its pollution levels being highest throughout the National Capital Region.
Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation, in addition to their efforts in maintaining the air quality, are making sure that the waste generated during Diwali stays in control. They have directed their workforce to operate in two shifts for the same and ensure that the door to door garbage collection is carried as it is normally done.
Mr. Promod Kumar, Additional Municipal Commissioner, says that the water sprinkling will continue throughout the Diwali day and resume at midnight, after people are done with the festivities.